Foreboding Betrayal
by Varie Raven
Summary: AU Fic! Reformatted and better! Chap 6 up. Darien dumped Serena b/c of those dreams, but what if the Wiseman manipulated Serena onto their side instead of Rini? Will Diamond get his beloved queen after all and will she love him back and betray Darien?
1. Solitude

Sailor Moon (Alternate Universe Fic)

Disclaimer: I do not own Sailor Moon in any way so don't try to find reasons to sue because there aren't any.

Author's Preface: This takes place around the third season of Sailor Moon with the Dark Moon, and Nemesis, and Rini's first appearance. (Ya know, the section when Darien has those dreams that makes him avoid Serena) Anyway, imagine, what if Serena was brainwashed instead of Rini? Okay, to make this work, you're going to have to "pretend" that Darien broke up with Serena a little later than he did in the series.

Chapter One: Solitude

      "Serena, I don't think we should see each other anymore," Darien said. Serena couldn't believe what she was hearing.

"D-Darien, what do you mean?" she glanced up at him, her eyes brimming with unshed tears.

"I meant exactly what I said, we shouldn't be together anymore."

"But Darien why? I'll do better in school, I promise and I'll be more responsible, and-"

"No Serena, it's not that, I want time apart, I don't think things are working out between the both of us," he explained, trying his best not to cry.

      "I don't see anything wrong with our relationship, please tell me what's wrong, so we can fix it! Darien, we're meant to be together, it's destiny," she pleaded.

"Serena, listen, I don't feel the same for you as I did. I don't... love you anymore." If Serena's heart hadn't broken already, this completely did it for her. Before she could even let him see her cry, she took off down the street, trying to find the shortest way home.

_I'm sorry Serena, this is just the way things have to be for awhile, I promise I'll make it up to you, I promise..._ he thought, walking down the opposite end of the road.

      Once Serena reached her house she ran up the stairs crying hysterically.

      "Serena, how was school?" her mother called. When Serena didn't reply, she worried and went up the stairs. The door to her room was open slightly, and she could see her daughter having an emotional breakdown on her bed.

"Serena, what's wrong honey?" she asked.

"D-D-D-Darien b-b-b-broke u-u-up w-with m-me!!" she cried, not able to speak coherently in between sobs. 

"Oh honey it'll be okay, don't cry. Tell you what, how about I make you a plate of cookies and milk?" she suggested, trying to be comforting. Serena only nodded and she took this as a signal to be on her way.

_I guess I won't be inviting him to dinner, sorry Mom_, Serena sighed and sobbed even worse on her bedcovers.

Luna was lurking around the corner of Serena's room when she heard her.

_Darien broke up with her?_ she thought, _but how could this be? They were so much in love I wonder what happened._

"Serena, listen to me," Luna started to say and she looked over in that direction, "You can't let this get you down. Try to be optimistic and hope for the best. You have to be strong and keep up your studies and being a Scout. Show Darien that you can live without him."

"B-but I can't Luna, I can't live without him," she cried softly.

"Yes you can Serena, don't mope around like a lovesick little girl, if you two truly love each other, then love will find a way to get him back to you." As much as Serena wanted to spend the rest of the afternoon moping and crying, she couldn't. What Luna said made absolutely perfect sense. Now, a sense of anger rose up in her.

"Ya know what? You're right Luna! I'll show Darien that breaking up with me was the worst mistake of his life, you'll see!" Serena wiped away her tears and ran out of her room. As much as Luna was happy to see up and running, she couldn't shake the feeling that maybe there was something wrong between those two.

"Oh, now where did she run off too? I had the cookies and milk all set up for her," Serena's mother said, when she didn't find her in her room. "I guess she'll have to eat it when she comes back."

Meanwhile

      "Diamond, our plans are going too slow, we need to stop wasting time and get this over with," the prince's younger brother advised. 

"Sapphire, I assure you, you are being much too serious, what we need is almost within our grasp. Relax," Prince Diamond told him. 

"I won't relax until our task is complete, I'll be going now," he said and retreated to the other room.

_How the hell does he expect me to relax when his inane fetish with Sailor Moon could very well ruin our entire plan? Aggh! This has to stop! I've got to explain to him that this is much more than that scout!_ Sapphire couldn't believe the way Diamond was going about himself. Of course it's natural for anyone to have at least one obsession, but this has gone too far. What did he expect to do if the plan prevailed? Make Sailor Moon his reining queen? 

      Diamond sighed when his brother left the room. He seemed to be so angry all the time, what could be his problem? Why couldn't he understand that they've reached the homestretch in their ideals? Although the Four Sisters and Rubeus were defeated, he has them exactly where he wants them. All of them believe that their fighting has nearly come to an end when in fact the battle's just begun.

      _One thing's clear; however_, Diamond thought, _I will make Serenity mine, no matter the cost_.

      Darien sat in a booth in Andrew's arcade brooding over the events of the day; he never imagined that everything turned out so badly.

_A new evil's coming, I can feel it_, he thought, _Serena, I know it hurts but we must stay apart for the time being. I know it's not over, and I need to find out where the evil's coming from._ Darien's past dreams have haunted his sleep and his mentality. He thought, perhaps, they were messages to keep away from Serena. He didn't know what they actually meant, but he must stay away from her until he found out.

"What's up Darien, you look like you're going to kill someone," Andrew said, sitting across the booth from Darien. He looked up and saw the welcoming smile of his best friend.

"Nothing much, ya know, the usual problems of everyday life," Darien answered. Andrew chuckled.

"I don't know man, it seems to me that there's a lot more troubling you than everyday life. What's the matter, did you and Serena get in a fight?" he asked. At the mention of it, Darien felt a pain shoot up through his heart and he almost doubled over in agony.

"Whoa!" Andrew exclaimed," Guess I was right, what happened Darien?"

"Serena and I... aren't together anymore," he answered the best he could.

"Are you serious?! Oh, she must be heart-broken," Andrew, said in disbelief, "How'd that happen."

"We needed time apart, so I decided that's what we should do," Darien replied. Andrew only stared at him.

"Are you kidding me, poor girl, how could you do that to her?! Do you realize what she could be going through right now?! I don't think you know how much power you have over her."

"I didn't come here to be lectured, so I guess I'll leave now," he said and walked out of the arcade. Just then, Andrew's cousin Lynn walked up to him and asked, "Who was that guy? He seemed pretty depressed."

"Oh, that's my best bud Darien. Yeah, he's kind of down in the dumps because he broke up with his girlfriend."

"Oh no, how terrible! I remember when one of my boyfriends broke up with me, oh it was horrible. It took me  absolutely FOREVER to get over him. Break-ups can be really hard on a person, ya know?"

(Author's note: I don't know if Andrew really has a cousin named Lynn, just "go with the flow")

      Darien walked down the street. Why did Andrew immediately assume Darien was the bad guy? Of course he was, but that's not the point. Anyway, Andrew was wrong about one thing, Darien did know how much power he had over Serena, because she has the same amount of power over him.

      _I know exactly what she's going through_, Darien thought, _because I'm going through the exact same thing..._


	2. A New Evil

Chapter 2: A New Evil

      Rini hopped along the street to the temple on Cherry Hill. Today, Raye promised that she would tell her fortune.

"This is going to be so much fun," Rini said to herself. Darien was no fun lately, he just sat and thought. He seemed so sad, but when she asked him what was wrong, he'd just reply nothing. Today, he went over to Andrew's arcade, leaving Rini by herself. She walked herself up the steps, but she saw all the girls chatting.

"Hey! Raye promised me a private fortune, I don't want her to say it to all of them!" she said aloud quietly. Their conversation seemed to be intense, like it was something really important, so Rini decided to hid and listen in.

"I don't know what happened. I really didn't see any problems with Darien and I. Now he just laid this on me. What do you guys think?" Serena almost sobbed out.

"I don't know, I kind of feel the same as you," Lita replied first," I thought you guys were the perfect couple."

"Yeah, me too. It seemed that your guys' chemistry was really good for each other," Amy said.

"I don't know, I didn't seem to see any problems between you and him, but obviously something's got to be the matter between you two," Raye commented.

"Raye, that's so mean, why did you say that?" Lita interrogated. Raye sighed in exasperation and continued.

"I didn't mean to be offensive, SO DON'T BITE MY HEAD OFF ALL RIGHT!" Everyone seemed to quiet down at her outburst. Just then, Chad came out of the temple with a big broom.

"Hey, what's going on, I thought I heard the beginning of a cat fight. Man, those can be real vicious. I didn't want to miss it."

"No Chad, no catfight here," Lita told him.

"Aww man... Oh well, what'cha  guys up to? Anything I can help with?"

"NO Chad, get back in the house and finish your chores before Grandpa has a coronary!" Raye nearly screamed at him, ticked for butting in their conversation. He ran in the house, in dire fear of what she might do.

"Anyway as I was say-" 

"So what's with you and Chad?" Lita interjected her.

"Huh? What do you mean?"

"Oh you know, I think there's something going on between you two," she replied.

"That's crazy! There **NOTHING** going on between me and Chad."

"Are you sure, because I think there is too," Mina agreed.

      "**NO, ABSOLUTELY NOT!** Now we are not getting in to this and let me finish what I was talking about earlier before I forget!" she yelled in a huff.

"Okay, whatever you say," Lita backed off.

"Anyway," she started up again, "Every one of you knows what Darien is like, especially you Serena. He's not the type to just go off and do something without a perfectly good reason. I don't know why, but I think the reason he broke up with you has nothing to do with your actual relationship. Just be patient and see what happens." Nobody spoke, Raye's words were full of wisdom and it seemed like a good alternative, but Serena was unsure.

"I don't know Raye, what if it is, maybe I'm just not a good girlfriend and Darien wanted someone more mature maybe," she suggested.

"Don't be silly Serena. Come on, don't let this get you down," Mina consoled, "I've got an idea, how about we all go to the mall and get makeovers done. I heard a really cool boutique just opened up and they're giving discounts!"

"Yeah!" Lita agreed, "Come on, this ought to cheer ya up Serena!"

"I guess...but I get to go first!" she exclaimed.

            Rini couldn't believe her ears. Serena and Darien broke up? How could this be? No wonder Darien's been depressed. It wasn't fair!

_I can't let this go on any further, they have to get back together, _Rini thought. Before she could think of anything else, Rini lost her balance and stumbled backwards, landing with a loud thud.

"Huh? What was that?" Serena asked. The girls just shrugged until they saw Rini running down the steps.

"She heard our whole conversation, oh that little eavesdropper!" Serena said, very annoyed.

"Hey, take it easy, I'm sure she won't say anything," Lita said.

"Well, ya never know!"

"Don't worry about it. I was supposed to tell her fortune today and I totally forgot. That's probably why she was over here," Raye explained.

"Oh.... anyway, let's head to the mall!!" Serena cheered.

      "She cheered up really fast," Amy said to Lita.

"Yeah, well be thankful she doesn't have her mind on the break-up. They can be really tough, I've been through my share of them."

      "Yes, that's true. I hope she gets back to normal soon. It's much better than the sad Serena."

Meanwhile

Emerald lurked down the hallways of her desolate home. Diamond wouldn't let her compete with the scouts and it completely pissed her off. Was she not strong enough? Smart enough? Of course she was. She could do a lot better than that half-wit Rubeus.

_I hope Diamond doesn't compare me with that moronic brute. He was given four of the best warriors and he let them be brainwashed by that ditz Sailor Moon. Now they're all goody-goody. Oh please, nothing more could make me sick, other than the fact that Diamond's pining away at some stupid girl that could possibly mean destruction to our world. _This busty blonde couldn't take it anymore, she would soon demand some action be taken by Diamond.

_We can't let those dumb-ass Sailor Scouts get the best of us. Why can't Diamond see that!!_ Emerald thought with such frustration that she didn't even see Sapphire bolting down the hall.

"Oomph!" she cried out when she was knocked to the ground. Emerald looked up to see Sapphire's grim face.

"What are you so damn pissy about?" she asked as he helped her off the ground.

"You'd be mad at the same reasons. Diamond's just sitting around pensively while there's so much work to be done. It's making me angry," he growled, his blue eyes giving an icy glare.

"And the way he's all over that girl Sailor Moon, that makes me angry too!" Emerald justified.

"What for? Are you jealous Emerald?" Sapphire inquired in a cocky tone. She flushed a cherry red at the accuracy of his allegation. Still, she would not let him know it was true.

"No, of course not. I'm a hundred times better and more beautiful than that little bitch," she declared.

"Then I wonder why he likes her and not you," he laughed as he walked on past Emerald. His last words echoed in her mind and will soon drive her to madness.

_I must prove myself worthy again in my prince's eyes,' she told herself, once I beat that witless little idiot, Diamond will see how much better I am than her._

Diamond and Emerald had been lovers before. Their affair was quite heated; there was never a night that they were separated. The two years had been complete and utter bliss for Emerald, she thought that they would be together forever. However, she was then brought to the sick sensation of reality. Everything was just fine until the "Wiseman" showed up to advise young Diamond. He was the first to show him the Imperium Silver Crystal the power he would wield if he captured it. The Wiseman also showed him the bearer of the crystal, the beautiful Neo Queen Serenity of the 30th Century. Their early attempts to achieve the crystal had failed, so they decided to go back into the past to retrieve it. The plan was going okay, in a sense that Diamond claimed to know what he was doing and how to get the crystal. Once he laid eyes on that Sailor Moon; however, marked the end of Emerald. Diamond demanded their separation, saying that he needed time to plan and couldn't be tied down by any woman. Emerald knew full well that was a flaming pile of bullshit. Diamond's every waking thought was of Sailor Moon and she knew that once he gained power, Sailor Moon would be his next target. Not to kill her of course, but to make her his forever perhaps. The very thought made Emerald want to vomit. She would prove to Diamond that she was better, or at least die trying.


	3. Ideas

Chapter 3: Ideas

Serena woke up with a giant headache the next morning. The girls' makeover plan wasn't quite as successful as they thought it would be. If anything, it probably only made Serena sadder. While the hairdresser was trying to pull apart her buns, she screamed and cried and whined like a child. Thinking about yesterday's events added more pain to Serena's pounding headache.

"NO, you can't cut it off!!!" she whined. The hairdresser stepped back; she wasn't used to having a client with the mentality of a two year-old.

      "Why not Serena? Change can be good for a person," Mina insisted. She didn't think this would have such a great effect on her.

"I know it is... it's just-" Raye cut off Serena." God Serena stop being such a little brat! We took you here so that you would cheer up and now you're being a baby. Knock it off!!" Serena silenced for a moment, just staring at Raye.

_How can she possibly understand, _she thought,_ does she even know what it's like to be in love?_

"Well!!!!" Raye interrupted.

"How can you say that? You don't know what it's like to be in love with someone so much and then all of a sudden, it's taken all away, it's not fair!" she cried. Even if Raye felt remotely hurt by this, she didn't show it.

"Why does everything have to be a you? That's all you think about! You you you you! I'm sick of it, have you ever thought that Darien might've left you because of your selfishness?!" she snapped nastily. Tears welled in Serena's eyes and she didn't say a word. She backed up near the exit of the door.

"Now Serena **WAIT**," Amy insisted. Her words fell upon deaf ears; Serena dashed out of the place as if it were to collapse. All four of them let out exasperated sighs.

"Oh great Raye, now look what you've gone and done," Lita blamed. Raye crossed her arms over her chest and gave them an acid look.

"Okay, if you want to blame me then that's fine, but you can't keep treating her like a baby! She has to learn how to grow up and deal with these things. How is she going to get stronger when all you guys do is coddle her? How can she have the strength to be our leader when she's still bawling over Darien? She doesn't need that!" Raye yelled. The other three girls didn't say anything. Raye was right. How could they expect Serena to be a good leader if she's depressed all the time. It would seriously affect her actions on the battlefield, putting everyone in danger.

"She's right you guys," Amy said, looking down at her feet. 

"But you could have least shown your support, don't you think you were a little hard on her?" Mina questioned.

"Yeah, I guess you're right," Raye lowered her voice, "But that still doesn't mean that my opinion has changed." 

That was the last Serena heard of their conversation. They didn't know, but she stayed hidden nearby the boutique and heard their argument. They were right though; she had to stop moping around. Her actions affect the rest of them and she had to use the better of her judgment. 

_I shouldn't let my breakup with Darien affect me so badly, _she thought, _but how can I live without him? _She looked around her room, almost everything she had reminded her of them, some of which were actually Darien's. She had his watch, his shirt, and other stuff. It was about time that she be rid of the burden called love. It couldn't be that hard, right?

Serena got up out of her bed and walked over to her closet. There, she picked up an empty box to put all of the stuff in. If she intended to get over Darien then she had to give all of the stuff back. As the box filled more and more, Serena sighed and reminisced about the good times she had with him. Everything was going great, up until he broke up with her. Why did he do something like that? Just the week before he said he was going to love her forever and now he said that he didn't feel the same anymore. Are men really that fickle? How can that be?

_No, I can't do this to myself,_ she thought, _I have to get over myself and get rid of this._ Once she was satisfied with what she put in box, there was one thing left to give back, her star locket. She lifted the pillow on her bed and revealed a shining, polished locket. That was what started it all between her and Tuxedo Mask and the way she swooned every time she heard its lullaby.  She opened it, to let the melody fill her ears one last time.

(Meanwhile)

"Diamond, I believe I have some information for you," the Wiseman crept up from the shadows.

"Oh and what's this?" Diamond asked, obviously interested.

"The only way that we can win and retrieve the Imperium Silver crystal is to capture its beholder," Wiseman replied. Diamond only chuckled.

"Of course Wiseman, do you take me for a fool, this is the obvious answer."

"Yes, I knew that you already thought about this, but there is...something else," he said.

"Hmmm?" 

"You see we must have another strong warrior to our side in order to complete the task you have ambitioned for. We also need the crystal, so as soon as we capture Sailor Moon, we need to bring her over to our side." This interested the Prince a great deal.

"I've wanted to capture her, but I didn't think about her fighting for our side. How would we pull that off? Sailor Moon isn't exactly the type to stab all of her friends in the back."

"That's true my lord, but all we need is to somehow get her here and then the hardest part would already be completed."

"Well what do you plan to do with her?" the prince asked.

"Provided that we collect all of the necessary energy, we can manipulate her," he answered, "It wouldn't be that hard, for you see, the love that ties that tuxedo bandit to Sailor Moon has been severed." Diamond's eyes couldn't have gotten wider.

"Oh is that true?' he asked chuckling.

"Yes and right now she's very weak from the strain in her heart. If we attack soon to get the energy, then Sailor Moon won't be at optimum level to fight, leaving us the perfect opportunity to capture her." 

The prince stayed silent for a while, contemplating this plan. He liked it very much.

"That's perfect, now how would we arrange for the attack?" he asked.

"I've decided that Emerald should instigate it and soon the scouts will come running to save the day. We'll make it seem like they've won and then 'steal' Sailor Moon," he explained.

"Are you sure Emerald is suited for the job, why not send Sapphire?" he suggested.

"I'm not sure he'd be happy to oblige, but Emerald has been trained properly and she will follow orders at the whim of your command," Wiseman said. The Prince thought about this, he really didn't want Emerald to be sent out on such an important mission. He knew her all too well, when she looses her temper, it clouds up her judgment. He didn't want her hurt pride or whatever it may be to get her angry, to screw up anything. Sapphire would be better suited for this, he was cool, rational, and levelheaded, although something obviously has been bothering him.

"Fine, I guess it should work, but she must know that we cannot afford any mistakes if she looses her temper. It would cost us much if she messed up," Diamond said.

"As you command my lord," Wiseman said before retreating into the darkness. _Now all I have to do is convince Emerald to take the mission and then the crystal along with its power is as good as mine, _he thought maliciously.

Serena walked down the hallway to Darien's apartment. She intended to return his things to him so she wouldn't be reminded of "them" anymore. However, every step closer to his apartment seemed harder to take than the last.

_Contain yourself Serena,_ she thought,_ you're just returning his stuff, and it's no big deal. _After about ten minutes of unnecessary dawdling and thinking, she finally found herself in front of his door. She let out a big sigh and attempted a knock, but found that she couldn't bring herself to do it.

_C'mon Serena, just KNOCK already, _she screamed in her mind. Finally, she rapped the door three times. No one answered, so she rapped again. Exasperated that no one answered, she turned back and started walking back down the hallway, but then she heard the door open and she whirled around.

"Serena?" she was met with the surprised gaze of Darien. Immediately, she tried to find the words to say.

_C'mon,_ she thought, _it's just like we rehearsed before coming here. Here Darien, I'm returning some of your things so we can move on, so see ya! _The words didn't exactly come out like she planned.

"Ummm... here Darien, these.... are...uh...s-some of your things...that I have to give back to you," she stammered and looked up at him. For a moment, she thought she saw the same hurt and pain in his eyes that she had in her own. However, those thoughts quickly vanished when he said his next sentence.

"Oh, so that's why you're here meatball head. I would've thought it was something stupid like you begging me to take you back and we both know that wasn't going to happen. So thanks for the things and I guess you should be on your way now, you see I'm kind of busy and you're bothering me," he said coldly.

Serena couldn't stop the flow of tears that ran from her eyes. How could he be so harsh and nasty? This wasn't the Darien she loved. She glanced over to his door and saw Rini's shoes. _Funny_, she thought, _He seems to love Rini just fine, so what's wrong with me. _Darien was surprised at her lack of reaction. By now he'd expect her to run away and cry or beat the hell out of him or something, the silence was disturbing him.

"You spend a lot of time with Rini lately," she said quietly. 

      "Uh yeah, but not like that's any of your business," he said, dumbfounded at her statement. Now Serena decided to be a little bold.

"You've always cared about her more than me, haven't you!?" she accused, not bothering to wipe away her tears.

"Serena-"

      "No Darien, don't talk! What's the matter, it wasn't like I did anything wrong and you kick me to the curb like I have some disease, but Rini's still your 'little favorite'," she emphasized the last words and stared at him coldly.

"Serena please, I think you're just upset, calm down a bit," he said, putting his hands up in defense.

      "No I won't calm down! Here's your stuff and thanks for nothing!" she yelled before storming down the hall. Darien was tempted to run after her, but decided against it.

      _It's for the best,_ he thought, _I can't fight for her and be attracted to her at the same time. _Why not? Hadn't he done that before? What was so wrong with it? 

      _Damn dream!_ he thought. Who would've known that a dream could hold so much power over his life. He couldn't risk her being harmed though. He'd never forgive himself. He wept silently as he made his way into his own apartment.


	4. The Briefing

Chapter 4: The Briefing

Serena ran all the way home, afraid that if she stopped, she would break down and run back to Darien. Why had he been so cold to her? All she did was try to return a few of his things and that was it. If anything it was a nice gesture. Some girlfriends keep their guys' stuff and never even give them back. So why was Serena the evil one now, what had she done wrong?

      "I can't think about him," she said out loud as she rounded off her street while running. She wasn't paying attention to the regular ditch in the sidewalk and her foot caught itself in the hole.

      "Oh no!" she cried as she watched herself hit the ground and skid across the cement. Now her knees were skinned and her elbows scraped. She only added more wounds to her broken body and spirit.

      "Oh now look what I've gone and done," she said to herself. She didn't want to cry but she still felt the oncoming tears. 

      _No_, she thought _if I cry now then I'll never stop_. She picked herself up and trudged her way to her house. When she arrived, she silently walked up the stairs, trying her best to contain her emotions. All she did was set herself up for a letdown. She was crazy to think Darien would actually be kind to her. It was so strange, however. Why did he act this way all of a sudden? Even if they did break up, couldn't they have been friends?

      _I don't understand, I thought we'd be together forever_, she thought. Serena slapped herself. _You're doing it again! Stop thinking about him, it's not worth it. I have to show him that I can do just fine without him even if I really can't. _

      Darien pounded his fist on the end table in his bedroom. He hadn't really meant to be so nasty to Serena, but his old nature just came out. It didn't matter; she **had** to hate him, no matter what. In order for him to figure out what was going on, he couldn't have any distractions or endanger Serena in any way. He had to be out of her life so that she'll be able to fight what's out there better. In the end, he'll just end up distracting her too. How would they be able to concentrate on the enemy if they were infatuated with each other? It broke his heart to see Serena like that and he knew that she could never be truly angry with him for long, but he had to figure out a way to make it so.

      Darien was so deep in thought, he hadn't realized that Rini opened his bedroom door and crept in.

      "Darien?" she asked quietly with her hands fidgeting behind her back. He turned around at the sound of her voice. He wiped the tears from his face and spoke to her.

      "What is it Rini? Something wrong?" 

      "Yeah Darien, something is wrong. Tell me what's wrong; it isn't like you and Serena to fight like that? Why did you break up with her?" Darien was surprised at the randomness of her question. Somehow children were better at judging people than adults were. 

      "Well…nothing's really wrong, it's just that Serena and I decided to separate for a little while. You know, like take a break from each other, that's all," he replied.

      "Darien, please don't lie to me," she pleaded, "I know something else has got to be wrong or else the both of you wouldn't be acting like this. You were never really mean to her before and now both of you are just either sad or angry, never happy. What happened?" Darien smiled. Rini was indeed an intelligent child to see that Darien's answer wasn't the whole truth. Still, he didn't quite believe that Rini would be able to handle the truth. After finally getting peace and a stop to people trying to kidnap Rini, she needed to be happy and not burdened with the possibility of danger again.

      "Rini, I don't think you'd understand, it's more of a grown-up thing, but I'm sure everything will be okay in the end," he assure her. Rini wasn't quite satisfied with his answer, but she knew not to press it any further. If Darien wanted her to know or if she really needed to know, he would've told her already.

      "Okay Darien," she sighed and walked slowly out of the room and shut the door softly. Darien was relieved that she didn't ask any more questions. He didn't have any answers to them yet and would avoid Serena until he did.

      _Serena, hang on; it'll only be a matter of time…I promise you._

(Meanwhile)

      Emerald heard her own footsteps echo in the empty, narrow hallway. For some reason, Wiseman had asked her to come meet with him about something very important. 

      _For his sake this better be good, _she thought. When she reached the end of the corridor, she made a left into a room lit with only two candles on the black walls. It seemed like the whole room was made with the dark crystal material. It was beautiful and yet eerie at the same time. Strange, she never saw this room before. 

      "Wiseman?" she called out, hoping for a reply. When all she heard was a cold silence, she called out again.

      "Wiseman? Are you here?" _Don't tell me I came all this way for nothing. If I did, I'll make sure he pays ten times over!_ She turned to leave in disgust when she saw the Wiseman right in front of her. She didn't even sense his presence and it frightened her.

      "WISEMAN! You-you startled me," she said. He chuckled softly in a sinister tone, which sent chills down Emerald's spine.

      "Did I? My apologies Emerald," he chuckled some more. Now he was just irritating her.

      "What is it that you want Wiseman? Don't tell me I came all the way down here for nothing," she snapped. 

      "Why no of course not," he replied, "I am to brief you about your mission, and I'll make it quick."

      "Mission? What mission? I wasn't informed about anything like this," she said, baffled.

      "Diamond hasn't told you?" he inquired, "Well you are to capture Sailor Moon."

      "Sailor Moon? Are you out of your mind?" she asked, "Why do you want me to capture Sailor Moon? She's been nothing but a pain in our side, why should I, o the Prince can swoon over her in real life?" Wiseman was overly pleased to see this as her reaction.

      "You should do this out of loyalty to your prince. It is his orders that you capture her and bring her here alive," he said, "and my job is finished so I'll leave you to plan your attack." He disappeared and Emerald let out a groan of exasperation.

      "This is just great," she said sarcastically. "I still have to please Diamond, but in doing so I'll ultimately just give him what he wants…Sailor Moon, it doesn't matter what I do, I'll no longer be in his favor. I cannot fail this mission." Unbeknownst to Emerald, Sapphire was in the room during their meeting. He had been suspicious of the Wiseman so he decided to watch his every move. The meeting hadn't seemed out of the ordinary, but he felt sorry for Emerald. 

      "And I'll be here to make sure that you won't fail," Sapphire stepped out of the shadows and into view. Emerald whipped around.

      "Sapphire? What are you doing here?" she asked obviously startled again.

      "I've been ordered to help you on your mission so if you fail, I'll take most of the blame, but if you succeed, I won't partake on the credit. It's a win-win situation for you Em," he said. "Trust me, it won't be so hard to catch her, she is a twit after all."

      "But why should I even go along with this anyway, I don't want her here in our home," she said stubbornly.

      "Of course, I don't want that either, but Diamond isn't going to change his mind. Listen I have a plan that'll work out for the both of us," he offered.

      "Oh yeah, and what's this?" Emerald asked, her eyes showing interest.

      "Diamond only ordered for you to bring her here alive. He never said anything about keeping her like that. When she gets here, we'll take her crystal and present it to Diamond. He'll be so infatuated with that for a while, he'll forget about Sailor Moon. If we kill her now, then there won't be Neo Queen Serenity in the future. Without her, we won't be exiled and we can return to our time and live happily again." Emerald liked the idea, but she still didn't see how Sapphire would benefit directly from this. For her, she'll have Sailor Moon out of the way and Diamond would be hers again, but what about Sapphire?

      "Sapphire how does this work out for you? I know it helps me, but I don't see how it will for you," she said.

      "Quite the contrary Em, this works out for me perfectly. With that sailor brat out of the way, Diamond will be able to think clearly again and be with you. Everything will be back to the way it was except we'll be happy and Wiseman will be out of our hair because we've succeeded," Sapphire answered. Emerald nodded in understanding and she grinned at Sapphire's ingenious mind.

      "Now that we know what we're going to do once we get her, let's concentrate on how we'll get her here in the first place," Emerald suggested.

      "I've already figured that out. We'll have to engage the Sailor Scouts into a battle and kidnap her while she's weak. From what I understand, she isn't in the most optimal fighting state so this won't be so hard. They all think that we're after Small Lady already, so we'll just let them keep thinking that to throw them off. I'll open up a portal to our world and all we have to do is make Sailor Moon go through it," he smirked maniacally.

      "How do you suppose we do that? You shouldn't underestimate her little army; they always protect her, including Tuxedo Mask. After all, she did eliminate Rubeus," Emerald said skeptically.

      "We'll have a lure for them. We'll set up another scheme that has them running to save 'the people' and use one of our fiends to distract them a little bit. While they handle this, you take a hold of Small Lady and that'll bring their attention to that. I'll use the energy we collect from our 'scheme' to open up a portal and while everyone pays attention to you, in goes Sailor Moon," he explained. Emerald was ecstatic at the mechanics of his plan; it was a really good plan. They usually haven't used more than two people in a mission and using three would throw them off, it was perfect.

      "Why Sapphire, I have to say that I'm truly impressed with this little plan of yours, but whom will we use for this?" she asked. 

      "Again, I've thought ahead and found the perfect scheme along with the perfect minion to pull it off," he said and them made a beckoning motion with his forefingers to the shadows. "Fortuna, come out and prepare for the mission."

      A slender figure materialized from the shadows in the room. Her whole body was navy blue and looked as slick as running water, but perhaps her most prominent features were her eyes and hair. Her hair was silver and flowed past her waist. When she opened her eyes, she revealed a beautiful set of amethyst irises. She wore a white dress that barely past her knees with high slits up to her thighs. There were no sleeves, but only three straps on each shoulder and there was a boot that reached up over her lower thigh and another that barely breached her ankles. 

      "Emerald, I hope that you are grateful for all that I've done for you," he said. She nodded and led the subordinate out of the room with her. Sapphire sighed; he really didn't plan for Emerald to be asked to capture Sailor Moon. In fact, he was going to do it himself and hope that Emerald would oblige in helping him. However, this seemed to work out better for him now that Emerald was at his mercy. He wanted to help her, it was so unfair what Diamond was doing to her. Leading her on so that she could do his bidding, it was so wrong, so depraved. One day, he'd show Emerald that she didn't need Diamond and that a real man was right here under her nose.

Author's Note: So what'cha guys think? I know I haven't updated for a while, but that'll change. The more reviews I get, the more incentive I have to write faster! ^_^ !   


	5. For the Girls

Chapter 5: For the Girls  A/N: Sorry it took me so long to update ^_^

    Serena woke up early the next morning; she glanced at the clock and was surprised to see that it was 6:00 AM. Never before in her life had she woken up that early by herself. Rolling back over to a more relaxed position, she figured she could get a few more hours sleep. After a couple minutes, her bed grew more uncomfortable by the second. Looked like the world didn't want her to sleep in today. 

She rolled out bed with an exasperated sigh. While rubbing her eyes, she headed towards her dresser to put on a pair of fresh clothes.

    _Might as well take a shower and head somewhere,_ she thought. The house didn't accommodate her mood, maybe would head over to Raye's. She was always up this early doing chores something like that. Serena picked out a sky-blue tank top and a pair of jeans to wear and then progressed towards the bathroom. She stripped to herself and ran the hot water. While undoing the buns atop her head, she stepped in her steamy refuge.

    The hot water and steam provided much consolation to her aching body, but did little to her aching heart. After she finished saturating herself in the soaking haven, she stepped out and dried herself off. The cool air assaulted her skin and immediately goose bumps became visible. She smiled at the sight; she remembered that only another person's touch had the same effect as the cold air surrounding her sweltering skin. Blood rushed to her cheeks.

_    I shouldn't be thinking like that…not anymore,_ she thought with a sigh and slipped her outfit on. 

    After completing her toiletries, Serena headed downstairs to write a note to her parents about her whereabouts. No one was awake yet and she figured she might as well be considerate. She chuckled, they'd probably freak out at the fact that she was up before any of them instead of her not telling them where she was going. With that done, she walked out and headed towards Raye's temple on Cherry Hill. 

    The morning was inviting and the sun had crept out of the darkness to shine its radiance all over the city. The sun warmed Serena's face and she smiled. She needed to wake up from her depression. It felt so good to smile again. Why let the cruel efforts of one boy destroy her life? It wasn't worth it, but no matter how many times Serena told herself that, it would never work. She loved Darien, and she just couldn't seem to break herself from him completely, even if it meant leaving her in melancholic misery. She wiped a stray tear from her face and the sun goaded her to beam like _it _did.

    Before long she reached the temple and as usual, found Raye sweeping out front. How she was able to get up so early and do work while she's at it dumbfounded Serena. The idea was so foreign to her.

    "Hey Raye," she called out and Raye looked up at her. Her face of contented blankness was soon replaced with once of utter astonishment.

    "Serena??? Is that you?? What are doing here at this hour? Do you even realize what time is it??? You should be in bed sleeping," Raye bombarded. Serena's only response was a sheepish smile.

    "Serena, how'd you get up this early in the first place?" Raye asked.

    "I just woke up somehow and I tried to get back to sleep, I just couldn't," she shrugged her shoulders.

    "Well, I'm almost done with my chores, so if you help me out, I'll be able to entertain you faster," she suggested. Serena made a contorted face.

    "Chores?! Are you joking?" she slacked her shoulders.

    "Yes! Unless you want to sit around and be bored with nothing to do, I suggest you help me!"

    "Fine, fine whatever you say, just stop whining," she groaned.

    A half hour later, a very exhausted Serena collapsed on one of Raye's benches. Raye smiled smugly as she put the mop away.

    "I don't think I've ever done so many chores in one morning in my whole life!" she exclaimed as she let out a breath. 

    "All you did was wash dishes and mop the floor!" Raye shook her head._ I guess that's just the way Serena is._ She laughed.

    "Laugh all you want to, you're used to this," she giggled. Surprisingly, after a few minutes, she found that she wasn't as fatigued as she originally thought. It was 7:15 now and Serena had no idea what to do for the rest of the day. Maybe the rest of the girls could come over and they could gossip for hours like they used to. She missed that; since she'd been with Darien, she had to forfeit the sessions filled with laughter and joy. She felt tears welling up, but suppressed them as hard as she could. The repression was almost painful.

    "Serena what's wrong," Raye asked, she was concerned. All of a sudden, the light atmosphere turned very gloomy. Serena composed herself just in time to answer her without one of those awkward pauses.

    "I was just wondering what we were going to do for the rest of the day, I mean I know the rest of the girls don't get up till about 8:00 and…" she trailed off.

    "I don't know, but I'll call them later, in the meantime, I got a new shipment of mangas yesterday in the mail. If you want to read them while I get ready, you-"she didn't get a chance to finish. Serena darted to Raye's room. She laughed slightly, Serena always _did _love those mangas.

    Darien sat in the kitchen of his apartment and stared out the window. Somehow, the coffee tasted bitter than usual this morning. He could stop thinking about how nasty he was to Serena yesterday. His words were so vicious and hurtful. It caught him off-guard how mean he was capable of being. Serena's mother picked up Rini yesterday evening and the cross look she gave made Darien shudder. Even the memory of it sent chills up his spine in the worst way. She had every reason not to like him now of course. He dumped her only daughter, left her distraught and in tears. Darien could only imagine how Serena's father felt about all of this. It was more than likely that he would murder Darien on the street if given the chance. He wasn't too keen on the idea of Darien and Serena in the first place and now that he broke her heart…

    "Knock knock knock," Darien's thoughts were interrupted by someone at the door.

    "Come in!" he called out and turned back to his cup of coffee.

    "Hey Darien, it's me Andrew," he walked in and sat down next to his friend. "I need a favor Darien. See I promised my cousin Lynn that I'd show her around the city today so she wouldn't get lost so much, but the thing is, I really got to keep the arcade open today so could you do it for me?"

    "I can't run the arcade," he started.

    "No, I mean showing my cousin around. Please could you do it for me???!" he pleaded. Darien let out an exasperated sigh. He really didn't feel like dealing with a hormone raged teenager again. However, he couldn't help but think how many jams Andrew got him out of and it was only right that he return the favor. Reluctantly, he agreed.

    "Ok, I'll do it, what time do I pick her up?" he asked trying to suppress a groan.

    "Great! You'll do it! Awesome! Oh…she'll be by the arcade at about 12:00 so just pick her up there. You don't have to spend the whole day with her, just a few hours, if that," he said with a gigantic grin spread across his face. After a few goodbyes, Andrew left and Darien sighed. It was going to be a long day.

    It was 12:30 now and the scouts were hanging around in Raye's temple again. Although their conversation was lively and vivacious, the girls decided that they desperately needed something else to do than talk the day away.

    "I know, we could go downtown again. I read in the paper that there'll be a world-renowned fortune-teller there. It said that she's been everywhere, including some places in Africa and that she acquired her abilities from everyplace she's visited. Maybe we could get our _love_ fortunes told," Lita suggested with a wink. Raye crossed her arms and gave a strange look. Amy must've seen it.   

    "You know how a Raye is about those fakes, I don't think it's a good idea," she said, always loyal to her friend. She saw Raye slip a smile in her cross expression.

    "Oh it's only going to be for fun and we've got nothing better to do anyway, so come on," Mina defended. "And besides, Raye specializes in _important_ fortunes, and this is only for fun so I don't see why not, it couldn't hurt." Mina could never help slipping in a comment to boosts someone else's ego to get what she wants. That's how she always wins her arguments, she was quite the charmer. Raye's arms slacked and she grinned.

    "Well I guess when you put it that way, I guess it couldn't hurt," she said. Mina smiled at her own persuasive victory. 

    "So are you up for it Serena?" Lita asked.

    "Sure why not," she giggled. It would be great to just go out with the girls and have fun. She only prayed that she wouldn't throw a fit of tears or make another scene like the last time they went out. Even though they never said anything, she knew that she ruined their afternoon that time. It would be different though. The day would be perfect and cheerful like the old days. 

    "Come on girls, what are we waiting for? We can't just stand here all day just thinking about it, let's go," she said.

    The girls got downtown at about 1:00 and looked around. It was crowded more than usual. The fortune-teller must've been that popular. While Amy and Raye saved a spot in line for the girls, Mina, Lita, and Serena went to get massive amounts of junk food.

    "Oh I can't wait to get my hands on a double cheeseburger," Serena smiled. It's been awhile since she had one of those. They laughed, they giggled, they checked out cute guys. It really seemed that the ambience of the day was they way it was before the horrible breakup. Light and airy, the way it should always be. Serena realized that she really dragged the girls down with her in the break up. She had to find some way to make it up to them. They were such great friends to stick by her side like that. 

    _This day will be just for them, they deserve to lay back and enjoy life,_ Serena thought with a smile. After getting the junk food, they headed back towards Raye and Amy. While waiting, they could eat their refreshments. After they finished their food and gossiping, they realized that they were not too far from getting their fortunes told. 

    Raye was the first and amazingly, the teller told her about a growing relationship with a boy who lives with (i.e. Chad) and she blushed the whole time. Mina was told she'd meet a cute boy at school that would join her volleyball team. Amy was told that whatever relationship she was in would flourish beautifully and Lita was told that she would end up with the boy of her dreams if she had the effort to catch him. These of course seemed like the ordinary tellings of a psychic, until she told Serena's.

    "You my dear are going through bumps in you relationship. Maybe it'll get better, or maybe worse, but I see those bumps turning into chasms and lack of faith will break you from your beau forever. You will run into many problems trying to get him by your side, but something significant will happen that'll either bring him back or destroy the both of you," was her telling.

    "Really? Wow, that's…deep," she said, trying hard to not cry. The day was for the girls today. She couldn't ruin it like that.

    "Thanks Fortuna," she said and walked away from the ostentatiously decorated stand.

    The girls saw her pain stricken pace and decided not to ask what Fortuna said.

    "Hey let's get some ice cream," Mina smiled. Serena lifted her head up. 

    "Yeah! Good idea!" she cheered and the girls made their way to an ice cream place nearby. Little did they know whom they'd run into. 

    While standing in line, the girls recognized the leather jacket as Darien's and Serena decided to ignore it. She didn't need him ruining her day. When he was finished with the order, the girls watched him walk over to his motorcycle…with a girl sitting on it. Serena's eyes widened and involuntarily walked over to him.

    "Hi Darien I didn't expect to see you here," she said. He turned around and for a split second, Serena could've swore she saw a smile. 

    "I don't know why I'm here myself, but Lynn here wanted ice cream," he said pointing to the girl on the motorcycle. He hopped on and she put her arms around his waist. The action made Serena cringe with jealousy. Darien didn't just let _anyone _on his bike.

    "Darien who's that?" Serena heard "Lynn" ask. Little did she know that his response would send her world crashing down on her.

    "Oh, just some girl, you don't have to worry about her she's not important," he replied, "See ya later meatball head." With that, he drove off with who seemed like his new girlfriend.

    The girls stood behind Serena and heard every word Darien said to her. They were utterly disgusted. Sure they knew he was being a jerk, but now they deemed him as the biggest asshole to ever grace Tokyo. Serena clenched her fists. She felt the tears, but she wouldn't let them break the dam of her resolve. 

    _This day is for the girls, don't ruin it now…_ she kept repeating in her mind. Why did Darien have to refer to her a simply nothing. Was their relationship just that?

    _Stop Serena, don't lose it. Just don't think about it…_

 Was it nothing?

_Stop it! He's not worth it, remember?_

 Was Serena's whole world just nothing to him?

This day is for the girls… 

 Was she just a whiny teenage ex-girlfriend to him? 

_I can't ruin their happiness with this…it's too much._

"Serena, are you ok?" Mina went up and asked. When Serena turned around, even she wasn't aware of the tears decorating her flushed cheeks.

Ok, oh no, here it goes…I can't hold it in anymore…I'm so sorry girls…

"No, I'm not okay!" she wailed. The sobs overtook her and she dropped to her knees. Darien's done it to her yet again and the worst thing was that she let him do this to her. Oh how can she be so weak? The leader of the toughest and most renowned heroes is the biggest crybaby of them all. She's weak, she has no resolve…no wonder Darien dumped her. What was happening to her. She needed a drastic change and fast, or no one would be able to save her from herself.


	6. Abducted

Chapter 6: Abducted

     The flood of grief broke her dam of resolve. As much as she tried to hold back her tears, they had intertwined themselves with the grief and helped rupture her control. 

     "Serena please don't listen to that jerk! You're way too good for him, you don't need people like that around you," Lita consoled with tears threatening to spill in her own eyes.

     "I'm sorry, I couldn't help it, I tried," she sobbed.

     "You don't have to be sorry about anything, Darien's just incorrigible!!" Amy outburst. She wasn't given to cursing so that was probably the most insulting thing she could've come up for now.

     _I can't believe this_, Raye thought. She couldn't take it anymore. What nerve did Darien have to say that to Serena? She had no idea that he was this hurtful to her, that Serena was just being a baby, but now Darien waged war with all the scouts.

     Before the girls could offer more condolences to Serena, they heard a shriek amongst the people downtown. The scream also produced people to panic amongst them and soon the commotion turned to pandemonium.

     "What's going on?!" Mina asked. The girls set their attention to the chaos and saw that the famous fortune-teller had her hands on one of her customers.

     "Let me go!!!" she screeched.

     "This'll teach you not to believe!" Fortuna menaced her in a raspy voice. The girls were amazed at what they saw. From her hands they saw smoke emitting from the contacted skin. The girl screamed louder and louder until her eyes glazed over and she collapsed. Her energy was completely drained. Fortuna had a ominous grin on her face and the familiar black crescent moon appeared on her forehead.

     "The Negamoon!" shouted Raye, "why didn't we see this before?!"

     "Hurry, we must transform!" Amy said and rushed the girls to a more private place so they wouldn't be seen. Lita grabbed Serena and dashed with them. 

     "Come on Serena, the safety of these people depends on us," she goaded. Serena, unable to answer right away, just nodded.

     "Moon Crystal Power!!" she shouted and let the transformation consume her. Once complete, the five girls ran towards Fortuna's stand and noticed that she had completely changed her appearance. Oh she was the Negamoon's lackey all right, but who's? Hadn't Rubeus been destroyed? They should've known better than to think that it was over.

     "You'll never get away with this, not as long as we're around!" Sailor Jupiter pointed.

     "Cuz we'll tear you to pieces," Mina added.

     "How dare you manipulate young girls' hearts just so you could have their energy!? I am Sailor Moon! Champion of Justice! And on behalf of the moon, I will punish you!" Sailor Moon proclaimed. 

     "And we're the Sailor Scouts!" The girls heard obnoxious laughter that didn't belong to Fortuna and they scanned to see whom it belonged to. As they looked up, they saw a well-figured blonde woman in a dark spandex dress.

     "Why how quaint," she said with a devious smile, "the entire safety police squad is here. Isn't this enchanting? Why it's a pleasure to finally meet you girls, but I'll have you know that I won't be defeated like Rubeus."

     "Who are you?!" Raye shouted. The woman only laughed again in a manner that made the girls cringe.

     "I'm Emerald of the Black Moon and as you know, this is my friend Fortuna. I'm sure she'll have her fun with you, now go Fortuna! Destroy them!" she demanded and then vanished. The girls focused their attention back at the demoness.

     "I'll have your heads, why don't you let me give you a tarot reading," as she said this, cards formulated in her hands and she thrust them at the girls. They dove out of the way and discovered that the cards were razor-sharp.

     "Hah! Like that's never been done before!" Lita jeered and performed her lightning attack. After about twenty minutes of relentless battle, the girls were exhausted. Fortuna wasn't giving up and showed no signs of it either.

     "We're going to have to think of something fast if we want to beat her," Mina said, breathing heavily.

     "Yeah, what we've hit her with everything we had, what else are we supposed to do?" Raye forced out. As if their prayers had been answered, a voice came from the shadows.

     "It seems to me that all you creatures to is target young girls, now that's not very villainous of you if you can't take on real men," Tuxedo Mask stepped out of hiding. He hadn't been aware of what happened until he rode back downtown on his motorcycle. He should've been suspicious about this fortune-teller, he'd never even heard of her before and all of a sudden she was world-renowned. Yes, that was definitely dubious.

     He whipped out one of his "famous" roses and aimed it towards her face.

     "So I finally meet the boy toy of the group, I must say though, I expected you to be a bit more burly," Fortuna hissed.

     Serena just couldn't stop staring. There he was standing there defending them like always. I guess he wasn't going to let their breakup get in the way of his "duties". It was going to be a tough and long partnership…

     "Sapphire, have you primed the portal?" Emerald asked, "The scouts are distracted with Fortuna and Sailor Moon is standing there like a sitting duck, completely infatuated with Tuxedo Mask. Now's the perfect time to operate."

     "Yes, the portal has been readied, but I need a place to open it. You grab Sailor Moon, and I'll open it right behind you so you can lean back and fall in. we won't give them any time to retrieve her. We only have one chance so do it right," he replied. He stared at Serena. How could she just stand there like that? Didn't she even realize what kind of danger she was in? Oh well, no matter, they were to bring her to Diamond before the day was over.

     Serena kept on staring as Darien fought with Fortuna. He was so skilled; it was a wonder how he ended up with graceless and clumsy Serena. She had trouble running without falling. Still in awe of his show of masculinity, she wasn't aware of the person creeping up behind her…

     "Ahhh!!!!" a scream rang out in the midst of the battle and Darien and the scouts looked over to see what had caused it.

     "Sailor Moon!!!" Mina cried. Before the six of them was Emerald having Serena in some kind of lock hold. Serena tried desperately to break loose and in the process, Emerald jostled something loose on her body and it clanked to the ground. She paid no attention to it; it was probably some annoying ornament on the girl's uniform anyway.

     "What do you think you're doing?!" Raye demanded, her temper hotter than ever.

     "What does it look like? Your leader's coming with me, she's not fit to stay with you any longer. Isn't that right sweetheart?" she asked sarcastically to Sailor Moon. _Come on Sapphire hurry it up already!_

From the corner of her eye, Emerald saw the familiar blackness open itself up. _Finally…_

"Sorry to leave so soon, but she and I have other engagements to attend," Emerald cackled and with that, fell back into the portal.

     "Scouts!!!!" Serena cried out before being consumed herself.

     "SAILOR MOON!!" the four of them cried out in unison. 

     "My apologies, but I'm going to join them, we can finish our playtime later," Fortuna said before she vanished. 

     Darien couldn't believe what just happened. Her love was just taken from him by the Negamoon. He knew something was going to happen to her, but he thought it was a warning for him to keep away. He had no idea that…

     "This is ALL you fault Darien!!" Lita shouted, "If you hadn't said what you did or broke up with her at all, she would've seen Emerald behind her. She would've had it together for the battle. I ought to kick your ass for that. When I'm through with you you're going to wish you were never born!" She tackled Darien to the ground and started pummeling him. To everyone else's surprise, he didn't fight back in the least. Finally, good sense kicked into Raye. As much as she wanted to see Darien hurting right now, this wasn't the best thing to do right now. They should start figuring out the plan to rescue Serena, not kill each other or blame senselessly. She dove in between mangy Lita and Darien and held her friend back.

     "Let me at him!! You saw what he did to Serena! The bastard! He doesn't deserve to live!!" she cried. 

     "I know how bad we all want to hurt Darien right now, but we have to find a way to get Serena back or we might lose her forever!" Raye reasoned.

     "Yeah, I guess so," she replied while wiping tears away. She didn't completely get off Darien though.

     "For your sake, she better be okay and back with us in no time," Lita threatened and punched him in the chest one last time, which made him fall back completely. Amy was already scanning the area with her computer.

     "Yes, the aftereffects of the portal still remain. The vibrations are being analyzed now. I'll tell you one thing, they are definitely not from earth. She took Serena somewhere all right. I don't even think she's still on the same planet," she said glumly.

     "I hope she'll be okay, what if they torture her or something?" Mina asked.

     "N-no, I-I don't think they'll kill her or torture her. She's got the crystal and she's the only one that knows how to control it really," Darien said. "If she buys time, we'll be able to save her."

     "Why are you in involved in this conversation. You obviously don't care about her!" Mina yelled.

     "I DO care! You can't tell me I don't! You have no idea why I broke up with her and it wasn't because I didn't love her. It was for her safety!!" he defended.

     "She didn't take her crystal!" Raye shouted.

     "What are you talking about?" Darien asked. "She had to have had it with her, how else would she have transformed?"

     "It came loose when she was struggling with that woman, see it's right there on the ground," she pointed and went to pick it up.

     "How did she stay transformed then?" Amy asked.

     "It stayed within her personal radius, of course she isn't now, but I'm guessing it was close enough to her to stay that way," Raye explained.

     "Good thing then, who knows what would've happened if the Negamoon got their hands on it," Amy said, "Oh and by the way, what did you mean by Serena's safety Darien?"

     "I've been having weird dreams lately. It would always begin with Serena and I together. It was our wedding day," he wiped a tear from his cheek, "just before we say our vows, the earth crumbles and there's always a voice telling me that she and everyone would be in danger if we stay together. I couldn't risk it being just some stupid dream, not when Serena's safety is involved." After this heartfelt explanation, Darien fell to his knees and wept. His worst fear had come true, Serena was gone and who knew what kind of danger she was in. Lita was right, even as he did his best to try and protect her, he failed miserably, and this was ALL his fault…

Meanwhile in a far away place, a few hours later…

     Serena groaned as she sat up in bed. She had the worst headache. Pain just weaved itself inside her head, pounding its existence in her body. She looked around fuzzily and realized she was in nothing more than a silver nightgown and in bed with silk sheets that matched. The bed itself was the epitome of luxury; she didn't even want to see the rest of the room. It must've been some kind of dream.

     "What happened to me?" she managed to get out. "Was it just a dream?" _No it couldn't have been._ She raised her hands to her eyes and felt fresh tears still hanging off them. Her eyes must've been puffy and red. She probably looked a fright. Remembering what happened last before she lost consciousness, she sat up abruptly. She was in some strange place and kidnapped by the Negamoon. She felt her chest and found that the crystal wasn't on her. Did the Negamoon take it? No, she was sure she dropped it or something, oh she just couldn't remember right now.

     "Oh, so you're awake," the voice startled Serena and she let out a loud, scared whimper as she directed her attention to where the voice was coming from. Right in front of her was indeed a very gorgeous man. His hair was white, but he was incredibly young looking, it just may be his coloring. He was somewhat pale after all, and those eyes…she didn't want even to get into those. They were so magnetizing. Save for the black moon marking on his forehead.

     _Stop thinking like that, you're kidnapped and he's evil, _she thought, but Darien was gone and all was lost, so what was so wrong to indulge herself in this girlish fantasy. Instead of swooning though, answers were far more important to her than staring, although the alternative was particularly inviting.

     "What happened to me?" she asked.

     "You were unstable in battle, so Emerald retrieved you for me. You were obviously so hurt and it just broke my heart to see you like that," he put his hand over his chest and offered a look of sympathy. As charming as he seemed, Serena wasn't going to buy that.

     "No I'm serious. You don't even know me, how could you know what I was going through," she countered. He chortled softly and Serena colored a bit.

     "I know a lot more about you than you realize Serena," he said. Her eyes widened at the mention of her name. How did this man know her name, she guessed he was right when he said he knew a lot more about her than she thought.

     "I knew your troubles with that Tuxedo Mask and I must say, it was entirely unfair what he did to you. How could a man even _think_ about treating the woman he claimed to love like that? Why, it was absolutely callous," he said. Serena blushed again and felt the onslaught of tears threatening to break her system.

     "I see you're still a little sensitive about that, well it's no matter, you're way too good for a man like that," he smiled at her. His smile was perfect. Serena wondered, was the rest of his body as perfect? It seemed that the rest of the blood in her body rushed to one spot.

     _Damnit Serena! I thought I told you to stop that!_ She thought.

     "W-wh-who are you?" she asked, trying to hide her embarrassment.

     "You've never heard of me?" he asked. Serena shook her head and he placed mock offense on his expression.

     "I must say, I'm quite offended, a beautiful woman like you never even heard of me?" She laughed despite herself. No matter how bad her situation was at the moment, this man was an absolute charmer. He walked up to her bed and leaned forward, letting his arms support the rest of his body as he looked at her. 

     "I'm Prince Diamond, but what good is my name if you never heard of it. Looks like my notoriety isn't as exalted as I thought it was," he smiled another faultless grin as he gazed into Serena's eyes.

     "You control the Negamoon?" she asked.

     "In a word yes, but we're just like one big happy family," he replied. As he answered her, the Wiseman crept in the room without anyone's notice.

     "My Prince, I believe Emerald would like to speak with you," he said. Serena didn't know why, but his presence frightened her. Diamond sighed in disappointment. 

     "Fine, tell her I'll see her in a moment, let me finish up my conversation here. While I'm gone, please look after her," he answered.

     "Yes your highness," he said.

     "Forgive me, but I must be off. As much as I hate to leave you, Wiseman will take care of all you need and I'll be with you shortly," Diamond retreated and Serena found herself not wanting him to go.

     "You see Sailor Moon, why think about Tuxedo Mask when you have someone you just meet who obviously cares about you? You see… Darien _never_ loved you. If he loved you then why would he say those things to hurt you? He didn't care about you, he only cared about Rini-"Serena stopped him mid-sentence.

     "Stop it!! You're wrong!"

     "Oh am I? Why was Rini always getting the love and attention that _you_ deserve?! Didn't Darien always shower her with affection while you were there?"

     "I-I d-don't know, please, you can't…" she trailed off.

     "You were supposed to be the one he loved and all he did was _ignore_ you when you needed him most! Why did you even put up with all that? Don't you know an abusive relationship when you see one?"

     "No, he did care! He did!"

     "If he cared then why did he break up with you for **no** reason and say that you meant **_nothing_** to him! Why did he say that if he cared at all for you? He didn't love you, he didn't care how bad he hurt your feelings! Didn't he always say such mean words to you when all you did was try to be nice?"

     "I-I…"

     "You were such a fine girlfriend and he kicked you to the curb. Such a lovely girl and you weren't getting the love you deserve. Such a shame… he never loved you at all!! You don't deserve _that_!!!!!!" Serena didn't even realize she was crying until tears pelted her nightgown. She was so confused, why did Darien treat her like that, like she was no good at all. All he cared about was Rini…

     "You can live a better life without him. He was never there when you needed him most. You were so scared and alone, but he never even gave it a second thought? Is that love? No, he left you cold and alone, he **_never_** loved you-!!!"

     "Stop!! Stop this right now!!! I don't need this!!" she sobbed frenziedly, "You're right! He never loved me!!" 


End file.
